Welcome to Fort Larned NHS's Key Feature Page

Living History Reinactments

Ever wonder about the civil war? What the people in it dressed like or how they fought or what they said? Come to Fort Larned National Historic Site and attend a live history reinactment and find out! Live history reinactments are a unique, fun, and special way to learn about the Civil War.

The living history takes place on the following days: Memorial Day Weekend, July 4th, and Labor Day weekend. There are different history demonstrations for each date.

The Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was one of the most important trails in America from 1822-1880! It annually carried several million dollars between Independence, MO and Santa Fe! The gold rushes of 1849 and 1858 increased traffic along the trail. Settlers and merchants also roamed the trail which also increased the traffic on the trail. This really upset the Native Americans by disrupting their lifestyles which they had had for so many years! The Native Americans felt that their existence was being threatened so they decided to fight back.

To protect the people traveling the Santa Fe Trail, the army set up a military post, Lookout Hill. The fort was then moved 3 miles (5 kilometers) to the west, to a more durable fort. The fort was named after Col. Benjamin F. Larned, U.S. Army Paymaster-General. Fort Larned guarded the Kansas part of the Santa Fe Trail from the Native Americans, and was the key center and principal guardian for several years.

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